Apparatus for feeding and aligning fish



6 m 0 t o m E 9 e TF1 N 1 e N R 4 w E o a w 2 m I m W A FONKEN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND ALIGNING FISH Filed Oct. 31, 1941 Feb. 13, 1951 w. A. FONKEN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND ALIGNING FISH 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 31, 1941 INVENTOR MY/iem 14. (121mm ATTORNEY 1* f I L- 4- 1 Feb. 13, 1951 w. A. FONKEN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND ALIGNING FISH 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Oct. 31, 1941 INVENTOR| ll/fl/iam 1i lamen A ORNEY INVENTOR M/fidm flfonken ATTORNEY III/1-4 l m .5!!! I 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 W A FONKEN APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND ALIGNING FISH Feb. 13, 1951 Filed 001;. 31, 1941 Feb. 13, 1951 w. A. FONKEN 2,541,045

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING AND ALIGNING FISH Filed Oct. 31, 1941 SASheetSF-Sheet 5 INVENTOR TTORNEY Patented Feb. 13, 1951 ALIGNING FISH- William ;A.- Fonken, Seattle, -Wash.-, assignorito Smith Cannery Machines Company, Seattla Wash, a corporationof Washington Application October 31, 1941, Serial No. 417,374

29; Claims. (01. 17%3) My invention relatesto the art of providing sidewise traveling aligned movement of fishin succession to.a fish header knife.

More particularly, myinvention relates to the art of aligning varying sized fish which are being fe'd over a fish table longitudinally,thereof in succession to a header knife so that the head may be severed without-wastage of meat, even though the individual heads are long or short, according to the different sizes of the fish. Thisiinvolves individualalignment of the fish with respect to the header knife so that even though the feeding conveyoris traveling at a relatively high speed, the samepredeterminedpoint of each fish is brought positively and uniformly into desired relationwith the, plane of cutting of the header knife and wastage of meat is avoided.

The scientific name for the bone structure engaged in moving the fish transversely of the table, is cleithrum. Therefore, when reference is (made herein to pectoral girdle or gill openingnforming or bordering bone structure, it is l to be understood it is the bone structure known as cleithrum which is intended to be identified. For brevity. sake, cleithrum is used-in the claims;

In common commercial practice in the canning of fish, an operatormanually feeds the fish to the knife known as the header. Often the rate of l feed isas many as thirty-five. hundred-fish per hour. To have-the knife engage thefish just back of the pectoral girdle avoids ,wastage as the head and parts severed therewith constitute refuse; Accordingly, the operator who feeds the fish to, the knife is strictly instructedto cut as closeas possible tothe pectoralgirdle without cutting the same but to be sure to miss all gill parts. Since he must avoid gill parts with the meat, he ordinarily tries to positively leave with the head sufficient ofthe fish meat to insure omitting'all gill parts and as a result there isfa considerable and practically unavoidable wastage.

The-constant complaintin allplants directed.

against the operator feeding the fish is You are My invention saves approximatelyone salmon of the number of salmon heretofore required to produce a case of forty-eight one pound cans. I

When it is remembered that the average annual pack over a ten year period for th e North Pacific canneries amounts to 8,260,000 case'sy git i's' mani fest-that A y. i ventionis" directed to conservin a relatively large'; amountgof; one tofzour' most important 1- naturalifood resources. One] zyear the;

paek'rnumbered;10,800,00u cases;

,- A150 M derr h ,zzpr sentccommonopracticeirof-a manually feeding the fish to ;the =,header knifeg,

there is;considerableda;nger to. the, fingers ofzlthe operator, ,particularlywhen the operator becomes; fatigued, ;as occurspwhen. a h avy :runof fish is, 1 encountered 311(15 the; cannery: is maintained 1 in 5 continuous; pperation. forextended periods; It is quite impractical :for --;the -0pfir.a t01;e to;attempt: J tokeep his 3 eyes; directed constantly to l a eertains; limited section, as the knife engagmgareawf; a :1 fish,"for along period 9f time.-5 Toavoidbecoming dizzy ,operators find ituneoessarynto "looks away temporarily and forhis reasony as well as; for fatigue; or having; the attention -directedq-else-- wherfi; :Ormtherwise; accidents topoperators fin;

gers do' happen, i Attempts; to evercomethisdanger have been made with the; use Of"fiSh 1B011-1 veyor chains, but these have otproven-success ful.'; Conveyor. chains are .notemployed; in the vast majority ofthe ,plants becausethe operators find that itiis. not; convenient to handieethe .fish- Accordingly it ist the excep- :1

over such devices. tion,1 rather thanthe: rule, where such :chain conveyors are employed.

The capacity-curate of operation of the fish dressing machine in common use greatly exceeds; the ability of-human handsto feed andI also to precisely align the relativethe plane-of ut,

ting of the knife. Since the-period of run offish,

such as salmon, is limited, great pressure for;-

speed arises-torender ;-the:- harvest as great as possible. Conesquently, while. 1 greater wastage results-of this important natural resource-at the higher speeds, due to, severing-t edible flesh partwith the head portion, yet, evenlatslower speeds ,great wasting occurs as this is practically impossible to be avoided where human control is relied a upon for precise alignment. This wastage 1 is also otherwiseexpensive as it occursafter a cone siderable investment is made-by the canneryman in the fish over the basicprice paidlthe fisherman therefor by Wayi of transportation and handling the fish and maintaining stationary and floating equipment for receiving the same.

My invention provides for aligning the fish in it advance of the automatically operatedheader knife so that thereafter th'ejfishis carried under 3 fish at the time the knife engages the fish, or even for a relatively considerable distance in advance of the knife and all this with a regularly maintained increase of speed over that commonly employed.

If we abut the nose of the fish against a. guide the location of the pectoral girdle back from the guide will vary obviously according to the size of the fish. This distance will have a range of as much as four and one-half inches. Since fish are naturally slimy and the feeding tables and all conveying mechanism become slimy therefrom, and since the form of the fish is tapered, it is most difficult to position the fish definitely and accurately beneath the header knife to have the knife strike the fish just back of the pectoral girdle,

It is a primary object of my invention to provide a machine which will eliminate the danger to the operators fingers and which will positively and accurately position in succession the different sized fish being fed over a feed table so that the header knife will sever the head by cutting just back of the pectoral girdle, and all this with a regularly maintained increase of speed over that commonly employed.

The above mentioned general objects of my invention, together with others inherent in the same, are attained by the mechanism illustrated in the-following drawings and the method herein set forth, the same being preferred exemplary forms of embodiment of my invention, throughout which drawings like reference numerals indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is a plan View, with parts broken away, of apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, a fragment of a fish dressing machine being shown therein by dot and dash lines;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation, with parts broken away, of the device shown in Fig. 1, the positions of a plurality of fish in the device being shown by dot and dash lines;

Fig. 3 is a view partly in plane and partly in section taken substantially on broken line 33 of Fig. '2 and showing by full lines a plurality of fish in the machine;

Fig. 4i is a fragmentary plan view of a portion of afeed table including the table slot for the header knife and therefore showing indirectly the form of the header knife;

Fig. 5 is a detached perspective enlarged View of an edged plate fish engaging aligning member formoving a fish transversely on a fish feeding table;

Fig. 6 is a view partly in section and partly in elevation on a larger scale than Figs. 1, 2 and 3, showing an edged plate fish engaging aligning moving member and supporting devices therefor and showing a fragment of a fish o-peratively engaged by the said fish engaging aligning member;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view on a smaller scale than Figs. 5 and 6, showing an edged plate fish engaging aligning member positioned in operative engagement with the pectoral girdle and pectoral fin portions of a fish;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary plan view of a modified form of feed table having thereon a non-movable angularly positioned fish engaging aligning member;v

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary view partly in section and partly in elevation, illustrating the use of the feed table shown in Fig. 8, a fragment of a fish being shown by dot and dash lines in said Fig. 9;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary view'partly in section and partly in elevation, showing a non-mov able angular member positioned above the fish for transversely guiding the fish on the table, a fragment of a fish being shown by dot and dash lines;

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Figs. 9 and 10 but showing a gill or opercle engaging non-movable member secured on a feed table for engaging underneath the gill or opercle of a fish and positioning the fish on the feed table;

Fig-12 is a View similar to Fig. 11, except that Fig. 12 shows a gill or opercle engaging member substantially on broken line fi e-l4 of Fig. 13

and showing the table and showing by dot and dash lines a fragment of a fish thereon;

Fig. 15 is a plan View of a feed table that does not have any conveyor but that has fish positioning means in accordance with this invention and is provided with a fixed knife together with means for moving the fish against said fixed.

knife;

Fig. 16 is a fragmentary side elevation of the device shown in Fig. 15 looking in the direction indicated by line l6l6 of Fig. 15 and indicating by dot and dash lines a fish on the feed table;

Fig. 17 is a diagrammatic'view in cross section of the channel-shaped hold-down means illustrating the reception of raised portions of the fish between its flanges; and V Fig. 18 is a side View of a salmon head showing the cartilaginous or bone-like structure forming the gill opening. 7

Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive show a feed table 29 having spaced apart parallel longitudinal slots 2! thereinp Conveyor lugs 22 protrude upwardly through thegslots 2| for the purpose of engaging with fish 23 that are positioned crosswise of the table and moved longitudinally thereof. 7

The lugs 22 are carried by link belts 24 which .1

The sprocket wheels part of this invention, it is not herein shown in detail but is indicated by'dot and dash lines.

I have herein illustrated three of the link belt conveyors 2 2, 24, positioned side by side, but it will be understood that a greater or less number of these conveyorsmay be used.

The fish 23 may be manually fed to the end of the conveyors shown at the right in Figs. 1, 2 and 3. The side of the table 20 toward which the heads of the fish are directed is provided with a notch or cut away portion 30 at the location where the fish are decapitated to allow the fish heads to drop clear of the table.

A decapitating knife 3|, 7commonly known in the trade as header knife, is secured to a rotary disc 32 and operates through an opening33 in the table 20 at a location adjacent the notch 36. The disc 32 is secured to a shaft 34 that is journaled in bearings 36. The shaft is connected by bevel gears 31 with an upright shaft 35. Other bevel gears 38 connect the uprightshaft with a horizontal shaft 39 which is driven by means hereinafter described.

A shield 40 is provided over the header knife above thetable zfl" anu a similar'shield-M is pr rera'bly provided "for thisknife below *the table. A fragment of "thedo'wer shield 4! is 'shownin Fig. 2 and'it will'be understoodthat this shield 41 is shaped "so-that it will not interfere with the free droppingofthe-fish heads. The upper shield 46 issuitablyhotched-and cut away'so that the heads of the fish will pass-thereunder and-so that i the bodies of the decapitated'fish Willelear this'shield.

It is to 'be'noted that-the header lr'nifeis-positioned at'an angle; or incline,- i. e., it rotates in a plane which is inclined as respects the' d-irection oftravel of the fish, so that' 'said kniiie, in its upwardtravelfwill be clear of thebodi-esrohthe fish it'has decapitatedfin-its 'dotvnwardtravel. Itisal'sotobenoted thatthe-linife 3! is not straight as viewedfronrthe edge of'saidk nife, seeFig. 3, *but -is-curved' 'to a-shape best adapted to decapitate the fishwith -a-rninimum of waste ofthe'edi'ble portion of the fish. This curvature of the knife has a bearing in "determining the angleat which the knife-is tobemounted.

A guidemember-M isprovided on the t'ab1e20 adjacent the side thereofagainstwhichthenoses of the fish'are initially placed. Preferably adjustable mea'nsfsuch as'a bolt 43 (Fig D-oper- "able in a slot 44 of" the 'g-uidemember' 42,- is used for securing the guide "member" 42 to the feed table. The-fish are placed on the tablewith the tips of the nose touching this guide member. Thisdnitia'l'ly positions each fish near enough to the correct position so that the automatic fish positioning means hereinafterdescribed can engage with each "fish; irrespective of variations in the size of the fish, and accurately position each fis'hwith respect to the"-plane of cutting of the header knife 3| to thereby insurea minimum wasteof ediblefish.

The devices for properly aligning the'fish relaright shafts'48 that are preferably journaled in bearing brackets 49 and 5B. "The bearing brackets 49 and 5!] are secured; preferably by bolts 5!, to the overhead support45. Preferably the bolts 5| that hold the bearing bracket 49 nearest to theintake end of the feed table are adjustable i.

in one or 'more'slots 52 in the overhead support 45 so that said"bearing-bracket 49. may be adjusted transversely of the 'feed table to thereby adjust the angular position of the link belt 45 relative to the direction of movement of the conveyors 22, 24 as hereinafter explained.

p The lap' of the'li'nk belt '46 "(Figj 6) thatis positioned nearest to the heads of the fish is preferably supported and guided by an L-shaped track" member that'prefeiably has an upright flange 53 supporting the inner edge of the link belt and ahorizont'al'flang'e' '54 positioned'directly under the link belt '46 .to supportthe'weight of the same.

The land the linl; belt 46 that is supported by the tion as the top lapof the conveyor belts 22, 24.

Therefore"itisapparent'thatthis lap of the link such as a set screw ll.

belt 46 will have-a component of movement-lon gitudinally as respects the feed table and a componentof movement transversely-as respects the feed table. The speed of this longitudinal-component of movement and the speed ofmovement 0f the fish lengthwise ofthe table areequal.

The link belt 46 carries a plurality of spaced apart devices for engaging with the fish andmo'ving the same transversely of'the tableintoproper alignment'with the knife M as said-fish are being moved lengthwise of the feed table.

The fish engaging aligning plate members, see Figs. 5' andfigmay each comprise an upright plate m'ember55 having a curved lower edge-portion 56 conforming ingeneral to the curved sides of a fish adapted to first contact the fishbody and depress the skin while sliding thereover and finally engage the gill opening forming-er-bordering bone structureofa fish 2 3 asshown-in Figs. 2,3 and 6. A fiange'member fi is rigid with the plate 55 on the rear side thereof a short distance above the-curved edge portion '55. Thisfiange 51"constitutes a secondary fish engaging member which will engage with the body ofafish, as-shown in Fig-G, after the edge 56 of the plate 55 has indenteditself a predetermined distance into the fish body. Thisflangem thus helps-to limit the distance to which the plate 55 will indent itself into thebody of the fish and said flange 51 is particularly useful whenfishof soft texture are-being handled.

A plate like flange 58 is rigidly secured to the front side of the plate- 55 and extends forwardly therefrom at an upward incline. This flange 58 extendsforwardly over the gill or opercle bone 60 of a fish when the lower edge portion 55 of the plate 55- is engaged back of the pectoral girdle 6| of said fish as shown in Fig. 6. When the plate 55 is pressing against the fish adjacent the peetoral girdle the gill or opercle till will ordinarily be caused to rise upwardly into a position such as shown by dash lines in 'Fig. 6 and in the event that the plate 55 should slide over the pectoral girdle portions 6| of the fish instead of engaging behind the same and moving the fish transversely of the feed table; then the gill or opercle 60, which is of fairly firm texture, will be engaged by the plates 55 and 58 and the fish will be to a degree moved into alignment relative to the knife.

The gill or pectoral fin 52 of thefish may also be of use in the positioning of the fish. The corner portion of the plate 55 will often enter slightly underneath the base of the gill fin 52, as shown in Fig. 7, and press against the relatively firm base portion of this gill fin to help move the'fish.

Each plate member 55 is preferably adjustably connected by bolt and nut means see Fig. with the lower end portion of an upright rod 64. Each rod 64 extends upwardly through and is slidably supported by a guide tube 55. Each ride tube 65 preferably has a'key 55 rigid therewith that fits within a -keyway E1 in the rod 64 and prevents rotary movement of the rod. The guide tubes 65 are fixedly connected with the links of the link belt 46, preferably at uniformly spaced apart intervals.

A sleeve H3 is provided on each upright rod 54 above the guide tube 65 and is adjustably connected with the rod 64 by any suitable means Each sleeve "is has a bearing stud 12 whereon a roller 73 is journaled.

The rods 54 preferably extend above the sleeves 7 be Varied by varying the weights used on the rods 64. v

The lap of the link belt 46 closest to the heads of the fish, is always traveling in the same direction as the advancing fish when the device is in operation, while the other lap of the link belt is always traveling in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the fish. The fish engaging aligning plate members 55 preferably are lowered upon and are first brought into contact with the fish after they pass around the for ward sprocket wheel 41 at the right in Figs. 1,

2 and 3. Then, they slide over the fish, depressing the skin until they engage the pectoral girdle or other bone structure bordering or forming the gill opening. The further travel of the fish engaging aligning plate members move the fish transversely of the table until the shoulder girdle or other predetermined part is brought into desired alignment with the plane of cutting of the header knife, i. e., until the said members reach the location of the other sprocket wheel 41. They are then disengaged from the fish and are raised clear of the fish and supported above the fish throughout the remainder of each cycle of their travel. Figs. 1 and 2 show a cam track 15 positioned in the path of the rollers '53 for controlling the vertical movement of the same. This cam track '15 may be straight throughout the major portion of its length but is provided with an inclined lifting portion 16 adjacent the sprocket wheel 41 shown at the left in Figs. 1, 2 and 3v Also, if desired, an inclined portion 68 may be provided at the end of the cam track 15 where the fish engaging members are lowered onto the fish. 1

The conveying mechanism for the fish cleithrum engaging clip 55 in general, and for brevity sake, may be called a driven carrier, and may be any suitable clip mover mechanism which moves the clip in a substantially rectilinear path or flight while the clip engages the fish.

A plurality of hold down members El, 18, l?) and 83 are preferably provided for holding the fish down on the table while the fish are being positioned and fed to the knife. The number and location of these hold down members ma be varied to meet difierent requirements. Preferably these hold down members are of channel shaped cross section with the side flanges E23 and I24 of the channel shaped members contacting the fish. In Fig. 17 these flanges E23 and i2 5 show how they crease the fish whereby the channel receives between its flanges raised portions of the fish. When thus used the side fianges of the two channel shaped hold down members 77 and 18 crease the fish that are being moved by conveyors 212, 2 3 longitudinally of the table 26 under these hold down members and prevent said fish from being moved transversely of the table 20 until the fish engaging aligning plate members in sliding over the fish reach a point of engagement With the pectoral girdle portions 5! of the fish.

The hold down members 1?, l8, l9 and 8d are vertically movable and are supported by rod members 85 which are rigid with the hold down members and extend upwardly through tubular guide members 32 (Fig. 2) in a sub-frame that is supported from the overhead frame :35, herein shown of plate character, by brackets t l. Nuts 85 limit the downward movement of the rods BI and easily replaced removable weights 86, as desired, may be provided on the rods 8i above the nuts 85 to provide the desired pressure of the hold-down members on the fish. Preferably the rods 8| are somewhat loosely supported so that the hold down members ll; l8, l9 and will be free to rock to a limited extent as fish of varying size pass thereunder. This may be accomplished by supporting the rods 8| loosely in the guide members 82 or it may be accomplished in other ways.

A stop member 81 (Fig. 2) fulcrumed on a pivot 88 and urged downwardly by a compression spring 89 is provided adjacent the end of the feed table onto which the fish are. fed. Fish that are placed against this stop member manually or by any other feeding means will be brought to a stop in a proper position to be engagedby the lugs 22 of conveyor members 24 by which they will then be advanced under the resilient stop member 81 and over the feed table.

Preferably the driving means for the several pieces of mechanism on this feed table is synchronized with the fish cleaning machine 29. This may be done by positioning a pinion 90 Figs. 1, 3 in mesh with a driven gear SI of the fish cleaning machine 29. The pinion 9U drives a shaft $52 that is connected by bevel gears 93 with the previously described shaft39 from which the rotating knife 31 is driven. The shaft 26 (Fig. 3) which carries the sprocket wheels 25 at the discharge end of the conveyors 2'2, 24 is driven from the shaft 39 by a link belt 94 operating on sprocket Wheels 69. g

The upright shaft 48 (Fig. 1) which carries the sprocket wheel 41 at the left hand end of the fish positioning link belt 46 as respects the showing in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 is connected by bevel gears 95 with an overhead shaft 96 that is driven from the shaft 39 by a link belt 9'! operating on sprocket wheels 98 and 99.

In the operation of the device shown in Figs.

' l to 7 inclusive, the fish are placed crosswise'of the feed tablein engagement with the stop member 81 with the nose of the fish against the guide member @2. 42, insures that the pectoral girdle of the fish will be in desired spaced relation to the plane of cutting of the header knife 31. This means for the device as shown in Figs. 1-7 that the pectoral girdle of small and large fish always will be engageable by the fish engaging aligning plate members 55. From this position the fish are engaged by the conveyor lugs 22 and advanced or moved toward the knife 3|. Movement of the fish positioning link belt 46 is synchronized with movement of the conveyor belts 24 and as the fish are advanced toward the knife 3. fish positioning member (i. e., fish engaging aligning plate means) 55 drops onto each fish and moves lengthwise of the table with the fish at the same rate of speed as the fish. Also after each fish positioning member has dropped onto a fish, it begins to move along the body of the fish toward the head of the fish, due to the inclined position of the link belt 46 relative to the length of the table. Each fish positioning member will slide lengthwise over the body of the fish it rests on, depressing the skin until it reaches the relatively firm pectoral girdle portion 6! or other gill opening forming or bordering bone structure of the fish, after which it will slide the fish transversely of the table, 1. e., longitudinally of the fish untilthe fish is correctly positioned relative to the plane of cutting of the header knife.

Each fish will be Correctly positioned relative to the knife at the time the fish positioning member in engagement therewith begins to pass Having the nose against the guide I22 of hook shaped cross section is provided on the feed table He in proper alignment with the fixed knife I I5. The member I22 is similar in cross sectional shape to the member H4 shown in Figs. 13 and 14 and the gill or opercle or pectoral girdle portions of the fish are similarly placed in engagement with the member I22 by the operator. As there is no fish conveying mechanism on the table I I9 the operator, after correctly aligning the fish 23 on the table by means of the member I22, then moves or advances the fish to the left, Figs. 15 and 16, in a straight line until said fish 23 is positioned against the guide members I20 as shown by dot and dash lines in Fig. 16. From this position the arms II'B move the fish past the fixed knife by which the cut is made at the proper location and then deliver the fish into the trough I2 I.

Fig. 18 shows the head of the fish with the gill opening formed between the heavy line I25 marking the edge of the gill opening on the body side and the line I26 marking the edge of the opercle on the head side of the gill opening. The shaded portion I 2'! indicates the inner wall of the gill opening on the body side. The bone structure forming the gill opening, it is understood, consists in part of the bone I28, the cleithrum, and bone I29 known as the supracleithrum. The post temporal I30 is shown just above the supracleithrum. These bones are shown in dotted lines for the reason that they lie under the skin and yet the skin is sufficiently transparent so that their outline can readily be seen. The plate 55 is shown in dotted line as it is about to engage the cleithrum. Line I 3| represents the lateral line of the fish.

In feeding fish to the Iron Chink machine for dressing, the common practice has been for the operator to manually push the fish by thenose portion into position beneath the header knife. This, as'explained above, has proven very wasteful of the edible meat, too much meat is severed along with the head due to lack of precision alignment. The invention of applicant involves the discovery that the fish has in the gill opening forming or bordering bone structure, preferably that part of the pectoral girdle known as the cleithrum and supracleithrum, an engageable part which may be reliably utilized in moving the fish transversely of the table into precise desired aligned position relative the plane of cutting of the header knife, and then that said engageable part is of a character permitting disengaging of the transverse moving means without disturbing the alignment. Irrespective of the variations in the size of the individual fish, such bone structure in each and every fish bears a fixed relation to the edible meat portion. While the portion of the fish body above the pectoral girdle, i. e., the dorsal portion, is quite firm, the body immediately rearward of the pectoral girdle is soft and very 'depressible, so that it provides a readily engageable portion for engagement for transverse moving,.even though the skin is exceedingly slippery due to the fish slime coating. Manifestly many structures may be employed to utilize the method of my invention and engage the fish by the gill opening forming or bordering bone structure and thus align the fish with the plane of cutting of the header knife to most completely utilize the edible meat portion of the fish. Several such structures are set forth herein. My discovery also includes the fact-that it is possible to move skin depressingly a fish engaging means of my invention, and at the same time to have such means slide over the fish in a direction towards the head, even though this is counter to the direction of the fish scales, and bring the fish into desired alignment.

In referring herein to the bone structure it is meant to refer to the bone-like or cartilaginous structure (at least the non-meat portion),

whether the same be scientifically true bone or of a cartilaginous nature. 7

Obviously, changes may be made in the form dimensions and arrangement of the parts of my invention, without departing from the'principle thereof, the above setting forth only preferred forms of embodiment.

Iclaim:

1. In a device for aligning fish with a header knife, fish gill opening bordering bone structure engaging plate means positioned to move longitudinally of and to skin depressingly contact a fish in moving to engagement with said bone structure; and a skin depressing limiting flange connected with said plate means.

2. In a, device for aligning fish with a header knife, fish gill opening bordering bone structure engaging plate means positioned to move longitudinally of and to skin depressingly contact a fish in moving to engagement with said bone structure; a skin depressing limiting flange connected with said plate means; and a forwardly projecting opercle engaging fiange means connected with said plate means.

3. In a device for aligning fish with a header knife, fish gill opening bordering bone structure r engaging plate means positioned to move longitudinally of and to skin depressingly contact a fish in moving to engagement with said 'bone structure, said plate means having aconcave' fish engaging edge portion; and a skin depressing limiting flange connected with said plate means.

4. In a device for aligning fish with a header knife, fish gill opening bordering bone structure engaging plate means positioned to move longitudinally of and to skin depressingly contact a fish in moving to engagement with said bone structure, said plate means having a fish engaging edge portion with the corners thereof bent forwardly; and a skin depressing limiting flange connected with said plate means.

5. A device for aligning fish with. a header knife comprising a table, a fish conveying means operatively carried by said table to advance fish sidewise in a direction longitudinally of said table, a depending fish contacting hold-down means of channel shape cross section of sufiicient depth to receive raised portions of a fish therein,

and a fish engaging aligning plate means engageable with the gill opening bordering bone structure of a fish, whereby the fish is accurately controllably positioned with respect to the header knife, the aforesaid raising of a portion of the fish being caused by the leg parts of the holddown means, said engagement by the hold-down means and by the fish engaging aligning means simultaneous. V

6. A device for feeding and aligning fish transe versely of the plane of cutting of a header knife comprising a fish supporting table operatively positioned with respect to a fish header knife; fish conveying means operatively carried by said table to advance fish sidewise in a direction longitudinal of the table; fish engaging aligning plate means engageable with the gill opening bordering bone structure of a fish, whereby is en .dplate means engageable with the i gilluopening ".t'bordering 5 bone "structure of Y a fish; whereby is engagedandtaligned ansengageable portion di- -reotly adjacent themeat portion of'fish; a travelingamounting means for said plate means movable in aniangular path transverse of said fish 'alitable'y and a resilient and pivotallymounted retardingmeans for positioning a successive fish in a substantially predetermined spaoed r'elation to a preceding fish.

i 8:A devic forfeeding and aligning fishtrans versel of the plane of butting of aheader knife --cornhrising fish supporting table op'eratively positioned with respect to a fish header knife;

fish conveyingmeansoperatively carried by said tablto advance fi'sli sidewise in a direction 1on gitiidinal of thetable; fish engaging aligning plate means-engageablewith the gill opening bordering bone structure of a fish, whereby is engaged--and aligned an engageable portion directly adjacent themeatpo'rti'on of fish; a traveling Y mounting means for said plate means movable in an angular path 'transversebf said fish table,

and a fish nose engaging guide member positionedonthe forward end of said table and 1on gitudi'nally of the pathof travel of saidconveying means and' opera tively positioned to, guide the "gi11-openingbordering bonestructure into operative position for engagement by said fish -engagingaligning *plaLte' *ineans.

SI In a device'for;aligning fish witha header kriifa eltableghaving a'firstmemberfor engag 5 ing'one side portion'of a fish; a fish conveying ineansoperatively carried by said table tojadyancefish sidewise in a direction longitudinally of said table; asecond member for engaging the -oppcisite side portion or a fi sh, at least one of said-firstand second members extending in a "direction longitudinally of said table, resisting rnoveznent of afish laterallyof said table, and inwardly creasing" having -ti'vo fish engaging V inea ns sl-la-ced in a' direction laterally of said table andcf sufficient depth to provide and receive therebetween an outwardly projecting portion of a fish;" and means providing relative movementeand pressure of said first andsecond members toward each other.

10. In a-device-lfor aligning-fish-with a header knife, the combination of a table, a fish conveying-fm ans operatively carried by saidtable to" advance fijshsidewisein a direction} longitudi- Pn allyj of {said table, a header knife, {and a reently mounteddepending-fishbontzfcltingholddown meansl operatively {positioned as respects saidheader knife andhaving two fish engaging 'lli: FOI::USB with a fish'etable for feedingkfish to,':andia1igning fish with abeheading knife,v a so table having fish feed and discharge 7" end por- 5 :tions; a conveyor mounted adjacent qthetopgof said table havingfish engagingimeans whereby ;=fish :lying on their .side may be advanced-lengthwise of said table; a fish cleithrumengagingclip;

drivenl carr-ierf having a :substantially rectilinear @flight angularly disposed with respect to 1 the line of linovementbfthe-lconveyor,-having said clip mounted thereon.

"lZ uFor'use withawfish table for feeding fish to, and*aligningafish with abeheading knife, a table. having fish'ifeed and'discharge end" por- "tionsv; a conveyor Inountedadjacent the topof table 'havi'ng fish engaging means-whereby fish flyingmitheir side maybe advanced lengthwiseof said table; a fish cleithruni engaging clip; 20 a driven endless" carrier having'two substantially :parallel andrectilinear flights angularly disposed. with-respect to'theiline of movement of theoonveyor having said clip mounted thereon.

1 For usewith a fish tablefor feeding'fi'sh .to, and align-ingfish with a beheading knife,- a stable having :fish feed and discharge end-portionsg a conveyor mounted adjacent the top of sa'id-table having-fish engaging means whereby I 1 lying on their side maybe advanced-lengthwise of table; afish cleithrtim-engaging clip;

drivencarrienhaving two spaced apart aligned sprockets, the line joining the centers of' which =being= angularly dis-posed with respect to the'-line of movement of the conveyor, and havingsaid clip mounted thereon 14. Thecombination as set forthin claim 11, :andaotiiating means for said carrierimparting aconstant speed to said driven carrier of a sumciently increased increment over the speed of the conveyor to render the speed of the clip constant- --1y relativelyequal to that of saidconveyor.

1 For use with a fish table' for feeding fish to, and. aligning fish with a beheading-knife, a

table having fish feed and discharge end portions; a conveyor mountedadiacent the top of said table' -having fish engagingmeans whereby lying on their side may be advanced lengthwise ofsaid table; a driven carrier having a substantially rectilinear flight angularly disposed with respectto the line of movement of theconveyor;

a guidetube fixedly secured to said carrier; and fined against rotation slidingly mounted in said 1 tube; and a cleithrum engaging clip mounted onone end ofsaidrod.

16. ihe combination set forth in claim 15 and: A a -roller mountedon the opposite end portion'of saidrod?and'atraokway on which saidfroller bearsv'extending from saidbeheader station rear- -ward in plane spacedabcvesaid fish'greater "than the distance from'the roller to thebottom *ofsaid olip' 'whereby the clip is carried above the advenoihg fish.

17. A fish taole for feeding fishto, and aligning f-fish with, a beheading kniieeomprising a table "having fish-feed-and dischargeend portions: a beheadenknife mounted adjacent the discharge "*endof" said table; a 'longitudinally of-the-table lfish conveyor mounted adjacent the topjof .said tablehaving uniformlysnac'edfish engaging membersi horeby'fishlying on their side may be ad wanted lengthwisel'ofsaid table? and flp'a sttsaid knife; twospaced sprockets mounted aboveisaid table, a line joining the centers of such sprockets 75 being angularly disposed with respect tothe longisprockets; spaced guide tubes mounted on said chain; rods fixed against rotation mounted in said tubes; and a fish cleithrum engaging clip mounted on one end of each of said rods.

18. A fish table for feeding fish to, and aligning fish with, a beheading knife comprising a table having fish feed and discharge end portions; a beheader knife mounted adjacent the discharge end of said table; a longitudinally-of-the-table fish conveyor mounted adjacent the top of said table having uniformly spaced fish engaging members whereby fish lying on their side may be advanced lengthwise of said table and past said knife; two spaced sprockets mounted above said table, a line joining the centers of such sprockets being angularly disposed with respect to the 1ongitudinal axis of the table and directed towards said beheader knife, an endless chain mounted on said sprockets having a substantially rectilinear flight movable towards said knife between'said sprockets; spaced guide tubes mounted on said chain; rods fixed against rotation having rollers on one end portion mounted in said tubes; a fish engaging clip mounted on the other end of each of said rods; a substantially horizontally disposed track spaced above said table on which said rollers bear when said clip i moving away from said knife, said track having downwardly curved end portions, whereby said track supports said rollers with their rods and clips above advancing fish.

19. The combination as set forth in claim 11, and a fish hold down member mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereunder.

20. The combination as set forth in claim 12, and a fish hold down member mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereunder.

21. The combination as set forth in claim 13, and a fish hold down member mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereunder.

22. For use with a fish table for feeding fish to, and aligning fish with a beheading knife, a table having fish feed and discharge end portions; a conveyor mounted adjacent the top of said table having fish engaging means whereby fish lying on their side may be advanced lengthwise of said table; a fish cleithrum engaging clip; a driven carrier having a substantially rectilinear flight angularly disposed with respect to the line of movement of the conveyor, having said clip mounted thereon, actuating means for said carrier imparting a constant speed to said driven carrier of a sufficiently increased increment over the speed of the conveyor to render the speed of the clip constantly relatively equal to that of said conveyor, and a fish hold down member mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereunder.

23, The combination as set forth in claim 15, and a fish hold down member mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereund6 24. For use with a fish table for feeding fish to, and aligning fish with a beheading knife, a table having fish feed and discharge end portions; a conveyor mounted adjacent the top of said table having fish engaging means whereby fish lying on their side may be advanced lengthwise of said table; a driven carrier having a substantially rectilinear flight angularly disposed with respect to the line of movement of the conveyor; a guide tube fixedly secured to said carrier; a rod fixed against rotation slidingly mounted in said tube;

a fish cleithrum engaging clip mounted on one end of said rod, a roller mounted 'on the opposite end portion of said rod; a trackway on which said roller bears extending from said beheader station rearward in a plane spaced above said fish greater than the distance from the roller to the bottom of said clip whereby the clip is carried above the advancing fish, and a slidingly holding and releasing fish hold down member mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereunder. 7

25. The combination as set forth in claim 17, and a fish hold down member mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereun- 26. The combination as set forth in claim 18, and a fish hold down member mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereunder. 7

2'7. The combination as set forth in claim 11, and a fish hold down member floatingly mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable with fish on the table moved thereunder.

28. The combination as set forth in claim 13, and a fish hold down member floatingly mounted above and adjacent to the top of the table and slidably engageable withfish on the .table moved thereunder. 4

29. For use with a fish table for feeding fish to and aligning fish with a beheading knife, a table having fish feed and discharge-end portions; a conveyor mounted adjacent to the top of said table having fish engaging means whereby fish lying on their side may be advanced lengthwise of said table; a fish cleithrum engaging clip; clip drive means having a substantially rectilinear flight angularly disposed with respect to the line of movement of the conveyor; and means opera tively interconnecting said clip and said clip drive means to effect movement of said clip conjointly with said drive means.

WILLIAM A. FONKEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

